3 ms·

How many stores are allowed on Apple's ecosystem?

• pjmlp 6y ago
  Don't like Apple, buy Android, Jolla, Purism, KaiOS, whatever. And in the process get a law book.
  • wayneftw 6y ago
    > And in the process get a law book. You're the one who thinks that you need a world-wide monopoly for it to matter to courts in the US. > Don't like Apple, buy Android, Jolla, Purism, KaiOS, whatever. That's advice for a user, not a developer. As a developer, I'm forced to go where my customers are and in the US 50% of the users have an iPhone. If only 10% of the users in the US used an iPhone, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
    • AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
      If your customers made a choice to choose a platform with a highly-controlled walled garden as the only means of installing software then you should respect that and either adhere to the terms of said garden or not enter that market. You're thinking like a company that cold calls people on the do-not-call registry or something.
      • bananaface 6y ago
        This assumes people buying Apple devices did it because they want a walled garden. I don't think that's true, I think it's the opposite. Most users dislike it. Obtuse example: I think the vast majority of Fortnite players would have (much) preferred to pay Epic's cheaper rate.
        • AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
          At least according to many iPhone owners in this thread, that is precisely why they bought an iPhone. It's also one of the many reasons that I did not.
          • bananaface 6y ago
            Hacker News commentators aren't typical users. But tbh I'm skeptical of how many of those comments are organic.
            • AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
              > Hacker News commentators are not typical users. You're right, they're at least 10x as arrogant as the typical population. For instance, most people probably do not assume their customers are idiots who make purchasing decisions without understanding the consequences, even if that is often true.
  • jcranmer 6y ago
    > And in the process get a law book. If you've read the law, you'll note that you are not required to have a monopoly to fall afoul of the antitrust laws. The usual proviso is along the lines of "X is prohibited where the effect of X is to substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce." (see, e.g., 15 USC §13).
• parasubvert 6y ago
  What part of the law forces companies to sell things they don’t want to? Or to force the creation of a retail marketplace on their own ecosystem? It will likely require a new legislation to force the regulation of App Stores as public utilities. Violating the Sherman act requires demonstration of monopoly or restraint of trade. Any ISV has many channels and platforms with which to sell its wares, so this will be hard to prove. Asking for a retail cut % isn’t restraint of trade. The ISVs like Epic want more profit for themselves by forcing the regulation of app stores as public utilities, so that like a power generation company, they can compete separately from the distribution system. That is a tall order to prove that it’s more in the public interest than in the ISV’s interest.